SECI to invite bids for 160MW solar-wind-storage project in Andhra Pradesh next week

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will issue a request for bids (RfB) for a 160MW hybrid solar and wind project combined with battery energy storage in the state of Andhra Pradesh on 20 August.

The tender for the hybrid project at Ramagiri, Anantapur District, has been on the cards for some time after SECI reached out to industry to establish how much interest there is in providing EPC services for it via an Expressions of Interest (EOI) issuance back in January.

The contract will be for design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the hybrid plant, including 10 years of operations and maintenance (O&M) services. The contract will be awarded via international competitive bidding.

SECI has applied for financing from the World Bank to go towards the cost of the project.

A pre-bid meeting will be held on 31 August and the deadline for bid submissions will be 1 October.

Shared infrastructure for the project is likely to be provided by New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) while transmission evacuation facilities will be provided by Andhra Pradesh Transmission Company Limited (AP Transco). When first announced, the energy storage element of the project was tabbed at 40MWh capacity.

This project could become the largest and amongst the first of its kind built in India. However a smaller pilot project is also being planned in Kerala, as reported by PV Tech back in December 2017.

In March, Indian power minister R.K. Singh called on battery-based energy storage manufacturers to set up manufacturing units in India, particularly given the new focus on hybrid projects through the government’s recently finalised National Wind-Solar Hybrid policy, under which all forms of energy storage are eligible to be included in projects.